Cushioning support means for belt spans



Aug. 8, 1967 M. STINSON CUSHIONING SUPPORT MEANS FOR BELT SPANS Filed Oct. 22, 1965 R n 0 WAN/m A W Z United States Patent 3,334,728 CUSHIONING SUPPORT MEANS FOR BELT SPANS Mary L. Stinson, Chicago, 11]., assignor to Westinghouse Air Brake Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Oct. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 501,200 8 Claims. (Cl. 198-192) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A11 endless belt conveyor system having a tail section, a rope sideframe structure adapted to support a belt along a conveyor course, and an auxiliary belt supporting structure positioned between the tail section and the rope sideframe structure and having a roller assembly yieldingly supported by a generally T-shaped member adjacent each end; each T-shaped member slidably engages one of two vertically extending tubular members of an H-shaped stand and is supported by engagement with a coil spring housed in each tubular member.

This invention relates generally to belt supporting means for flexible belt conveyors. Specifically it relates to an auxiliary belt support for a rope sideframe belt conveyor which does not utilize the rope sideframes or auxiliary structure, such as the tail section, as an integral part of the belt supporting system.

It is now common practice to tie off the rope sideframes of belt conveyors of the type illustrated in the Craggs et al. Patent 2,773,257 at an anchor stand adjacent the tail section of the conveyor, rather than to the tail unit itself. This permits the conveyor to be extended without disturbing the conveyor line. That is, when the tail section must be advanced to follow a progressively moving mine face it is only necessary to break the belt, move the tail section, add a new section of belt, and install the necessary rope sideframe supporting structures between the point at which the conveyor formerly terminated and the new terminus. This system thereby eliminates the need to dismantle any existing conveyor components when an extension is necessary as was the case when the rope sideframes were tied off directly to the tail section.

One disadvantage of this system is that no support is provided for the belt immediately out-by the tail section. This is a point where the need for support is very great since there is invariably a relatively long span of be-lt between the first roller assembly in the rope sideframe conveyor and the closest roller assembly in the tail section. Further-more, the coal or other conveyed material is still in a state of movement when it reaches the unsupported span of the belt beyond the discharging end of the tail section because the conveyed material does not settle into a relatively stationary position on the belt for some distance downstream from the tail section.

One heretofore proposed solution to this problem has been to install a roller assembly across the rope sideframes of the conveyor at a point very close to the last support stand of the wire rope sideframes. This reduces the unsupported span of the belt somewhat since it is normal practice to install the nearest roller assembly two and one-half to three feet downstream from the last support stand. However, installation of a roller assembly right at or very close to the support stand reduces if not eliminates any flexible support for the belt because the rope sideframes at these points are relatively rigid. The belt therefore is supported essentially by a rigid roller assembly and is therefore subject to the disadvantages which are now well known in the art.

The present invention overcomes the problem of belt damage and wear due to the existence of an unsupported span of belt between the tail section and the nearest roller assembly in the conveyor, and at the same time provides a flexible support for the belt at the point of support.

Accordingly the primary object of the invention is to provide an auxiliary belt support structure for supporting a stretch of conveyor belt in a rope sideframe conveyor which does not utilize the rope sideframes or other parts of the system as an essential part of the supporting system.

Another object is to provide a rope sideframe conveyor system having a resiliently supported belt at all points therealong, including areas adjacent the terminal point of the rope sideframe when the sideframes terminate in non-supporting relationship to the belt short of the end thereof.

Yet another object is to provide a yieldable belt supporting structure especially well adapted to support the unsupported stretch of belt out-by from a conveyor tail section and in-by from the terminal rope gauge support structure.

Yet another object is to provide a yieldable belt supporting structure as described immediately above which utilizes many standard components, thereby requiring a minimum of special construction, is easily transportable from location to location, and includes means for quickly and easily varying the yieldability thereof.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a reading of the following description of the invention.

The invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatie cally in the accompanying figures wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of the tail section of a rope sideframe belt conveyor; and

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 22 of FIGURE 1.

Like reference numerals will be used to refer to like parts throughout the following description of the figures.

The tail section of a rope sideframe conveyor is indicated generally at 10 in FIGURE 1. The tail section comprises a generally rigid frame structure 11 which is mounted on skids 12, 13 to slide upon the ground 14. A plurality of upright posts or other structural members 15, 16 support a hopper assembly indicated generally at 17. The hopper may include substantially rigid sideplates 18 and 19, shown best in FIGURE 2, and terminates in an end apron 20. Rubber or other flexible type skirts 21 and 22 are secured to the hopper sides 18, 19 and extend downwardly to the conveying reach 23 of a flexible conveyor belt.

A pair of short lengths of Wire rope, one of which is indicated at 24, are secured by any suitable structure, such as a clamp assembly 25 to the receiving end of the tail section. A yieldable tie-off structure 26 secures the rope 24 to the discharging end of the tail section. A pair of troughing roller assemblies are indicated at 27 and 28, the troughing roller assemblies being suspended by their end portions from the short lengths of rope carried by the tail section. The spring means 26 bears, at its right end, against a rigid surface 30 carried by structural member 31 which in turn is welded or otherwise suitably secured to the tail structure. The left end of the spring 26 abuts an adjustable washer 33 carried by the outermost end of the rope sideframe which thereby provides any desired degree of resiliency to the rope sideframe within the tail section.

A tail pulley is indicated at 35, the tail pulley being supported inside a pillow block mounting structure 36 carried by the rear skids.

The return reach of the belt is indicated at 37, said return reach passing over a return roller 38 which may be carried by the tail section.

The tail end of a rope sideframe conveyor is indicated at the left of FIGURE 1. The conveyor consists essentially of a plurality of ground stands, one of which is indicated at 40, which support wire rope sideframes 41. In a common construction as typified by FIGURE 1, the terminal end of the sideframe 41 is tied off to the floor by means of an anchor plate 42 which is bolted to the floor as at 43. As best seen in FIGURE 2, the short terminal angular sections 44 and 45 of the rope sideframes have been splayed outwardly beyond the nominal gauge of the wire ropes, which gauge is established by the distance between the rope support points 46 between two oppositely disposed ground stands 40.

As indicated in FIGURE 1 there is a long unsupported span of belt, commencing with the left-most roller assembly 27 in the tail section and the first troughing idler assembly in the rope sideframe conveyor. One prior remedy has been to place a troughing roller assembly 47 as close as possible to the ground stands 40. This, however, still leaves a long unsupported span and provides in effeet a rigid rather than a yieldable belt supporting structure. That portion of the belt in the apron area immediately downstream from troughing roller assembly 27 is unsupported. This point especially needs support because the conveyed material is still in motion to some extent as it passes the left edge of the apron and commences its tra'vel toward the discharge end of the conveyor.

A troughing roller assembly is indicated generally at 50, the assembly consisting in this instance of a pair of wing rollers 51 and 52 which flank a center roller 53. The rollers are maintained in the fixed troughing contour shown in FIGURE 2 by a rigid frame structure which includes an elongated tubular cross brace 54 and upstanding end brackets 55 and 56. A pair of inverted U-shaped plates 57, 58 are connected as by welding or any other suitable means to the end portion of the troughing roller assembly 50. 7

Means for supporting the belt in the heretofore unsupported span is indicated generally at 60 in FIGURES l and 2. Said means comprises, in this instance, a generally H-shaped goal post type rigid'frame having upright tubular end members 62, 63 and a rigid cross brace 61. The lower ends of the uprights 62, 63 rest on feet or other ground engaging structure which in this instance are short lengths of U-shaped channels 64.

A pair of generally T-shaped members are indicated at 65 and 67. The members are identical one to the other and a description of one will suffice for a description of both.

Each T-shaped member consists essentially of a short length of pipe 68 which has an outside diameter of a size suflicient to be slidably received within the bore of member 62. A cross plate 69 is secured to the stem member 68 by any suitable means. In this instance the stem 68 has been slotted and the plate 69 set within the slots and welded. Upwardly projecting stops 70, 71 at the extremities of plate 69 form abutment means which prevents displacement of the troughing roller assembly 50 beyond predetermined limits defined by the distance between the stops.

In this instance a short length of rod 73 has been welded to the top of the T member to facilitate engagement of the inverted U-shaped structural members therewith. As best seen in FIGURE 2, there is a clearance provided between the T bar plates 69 and the limbs of the U-shaped bracket member 57 to prevent binding.

Means for providing vertical yieldability to the entire assembly are indicated at 75. In this instance said means comprises a coil spring which is received within the upright 62 and bottoms upon the foot plate 64 and is depressed by the telescoping stem 68. The flexibility and vertical height of the assembly can be varied by addition of washers or plates 76 within the upright 62.

From the above description of the invention the use and operation of the invention will be apparent.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described it will at once be apparent.

to those skilled in the art that other modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly the scope of the invention is intended to be limited solely by the scope of the hereinafter appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination,

a first roller assembly having belt supporting means and yielding means in supporting relationship with said belt supporting means,

said yielding means being yieldable in a generally vertical direction and independent of adjacent belt sup porting structure,

a belt,

structure for supporting the belt in operative condition on one side of said first roller assembly,

a pair of rope sideframes,

a pair of laterally disposed rope support stands located on a second side of said first roller assembly,

each stand maintaining its associated rope sideframe in non-yieldable condition at its point of se'curement thereto,

a second roller assembly located on said second side of said first roller assembly, with said second roller assembly being secured to the rope 7 sideframes at a location at which said sideframes are yieldable a substantial distance in a generally vertical direction.

2. The combination of claim 1 further characterized in that said structure for supporting the belt in operative condition on one side of said first roller assembly is a tail section.

3. An endless belt conveyor system having a belt, a tail section adapted to support the belt at one end, rope sideframe means adapted to support the belt along a conveyor course, and an auxiliary belt supporting structure positioned between said tail section and said rope sideframe means, said auxiliary structure comprising,

a roller assembly adapted to support a span of said belt intermediate said tail section and said rope sideframe supporting means, and

yielding means adapted to support said roller assembly independently of said tail section and rope sideframe means belt supporting structure, with said yielding means being yieldable in a generally vertical direction.

4. The structure of claim 3 further characterized in that the roller assembly is bodily rigid and has a substantially fixed belt supporting contour.

5. The structure of claim 3 further characterized in that said yielding means includes:

first support means engageable with support base means,

second support means mounted for relative movement with respect to said first support means,

vertically extensible and retractible spring means dis- 6O posed between the first and second support means,

with said second support means adapted to carry said roller assembly. 6. The structure of claim 5 further characterized in that the support base means is a fixed supporting surface located below the level of the roller assembly.

7. The structure of claim 5 further characterized in that,

said first support means is a bodily rigid, H-shaped structure, said second support means comprises a pair of structural members, each structural member having means for receiving one end portion of the roller assembly in 75 supporting engagement therewith, and

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Kendall 198-192 Haiss 198184 Speno 198192 X Madeira 198-192 Long 198-139 EVON C. BLUNK, Primary Examiner.

0 R. J. HICKEY, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION, A FIRST ROLLER ASSEMBLY HAVING BELT SUPPORTING MEANS AND YIELDING MEANS IN SUPPORTING RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID BELT SUPPORTING MEANS, SAID YIELDING MEANS BEING YIELDABLE IN A GENERALLY VERTICAL DIRECTION AND INDEPENDENT OF ADJACENT BELT SUPPORTING STRUCTURE, A BELT, STRUCTURE FOR SUPPORTING THE BELT IN OPERATIVE CONDITION ON ONE SIDE OF SAID FIRST ROLLER ASSEMBLY, A PAIR OF ROPE SIDEFRAMES, A PAIR OF LATERALLY DISPOSED ROPE SUPPORT STANDS LOCATED ON A SECOND SIDE OF SAID FIRST ROLLER ASSEMBLY, EACH STAND MAINTAINING ITS ASSOCIATED ROPE SIDEFRAME IN NON-YIELDABLE CONDITION AT ITS POINT OF SECUREMENT THERETO, A SECOND ROLLER ASSEMBLY LOCATED ON SAID SECOND SIDE OF SAID FIRST ROLLER ASSEMBLY, WITH SAID SECOND ROLLER ASSEMBLY BEING SECURED TO THE ROPE SIDEFRAMES AT A LOCATION AT WHICH SAID SIDEFRAMES ARE YIELDABLE A SUBSTANTIAL DISTANCE IN A GENERALLY VERTICAL DIRECTION. 